This world heritage property consists of 6 social housing estates, all located in and around Berlin, built between 1910 and 1933. This was a period of social, cultural and political innovation and development (esp. the Weimar Republic). In this time, housing and living conditions for people with low incomes were greatly improved through a form …
Essen Zollverein: industry – history – beauty?
When pursuing a quest to check out as much UNESCO world heritage sites as possible, one occasionally comes across some unexpected scenery. For example: a 19th-20th century coal mining site, such as the one in Essen (Germany). I must admit we were a bit prepossessed towards an industrial site, as we are nature-lovers with a …
A city between two rivers: Koblenz.
If there is one thing you can learn from visiting cities, it is the following: most big cities are located either close to the coast or alongside a river. In both cases, they are ideally located for any form of transport, whether it is for importing all kinds of necessities, trade or movement of troops. …
Roa: streetart perfection
Everybody knows graffiti. You have tags, which are often rudimental and are more to be seen as vandalism, but there’s also some real art in it. Annick has been a fan of streetart since she was a teenager (which is a long time ago) and the art developed a lot since then. Gent has always been …
Berlin: the quick photo selection…
We went to Berlin in the last week of 2014 and it turned out to be the perfect city trip: snow on the first day, the most amazing museum experience for me (Pergamon Museum), and a relaxed stroll-around for three days. The second day, our German friends arrived and they guided us through the city …
Walls of Berlin (2): Berlin wall art.
In our latest blogpost, we told the sad story of the Berlin wall as we saw it during our recent (December 2014) city trip. While that post might have been slightly depressing, I am glad to announce that this one is much more heart-warming and colourful. When we strolled down the streets of Berlin, we …
Walls of Berlin (1): the Berlin wall.
One cannot simply visit Berlin without being confronted with its grim past. There are two different stories to be told here: one about the second world war and its horrors, and one about the separation of eastern and western Berlin by means of a large, concrete wall. A lot of places in Berlin testify to …
The Pergamon museum: a wonder to behold!
In the final week of 2014, we went citytripping in Berlin. For me, personally, it certainly was one of the most memorable citytrips, and one I truly enjoyed from beginning to end. It was the combination of culture (e.g. the Museuminsel), history (Berlin Wall and WWII memorial sites, and a wide array of associated musea), …